Every good staycation begins with an appropriate amount of provisions.

For those looking to add a little buzz to their activities, the Concord area is home to a growing number of establishments that produce alcohol.

Here’s a rundown of some of our favorite places that offer opportunities to taste products and take them home for further enjoyment.

One word of caution, please drink responsibly and in moderation. Too much of a good thing can be regrettable.

Cider and mead

If you like scenic views with your libations, two must-visit destinations are the Contoocook Cider Company located at Gould Hill Farm overlooking Mount Kearsarge and Moonlight Meadery and Hidden Moon Brewing, operating at a new location called Over the Moon Farmstead in Pittsfield with panoramic mountain views.

Contoocook Cider Company offers its hard ciders on tap along small food plates, including brick oven pizza at its tasting room at the farm. If you haven’t had hard cider before, you are in for a treat. The orchard has been adding heirloom apples that produce crisp juice perfect for fermenting, including Golden Russet, Yellow Newtown Pippins, Ashmead Kernel, and Hudson Golden Gem. Alcohol content ranges from 6.4% to 8% and most can be purchased in cans, or in refillable growlers.

It offers classic single-varietal hard ciders, like Johnny Be Good, made from Jonathan apples, and others with an added twist, included the Cherry Bomb, an apple-cranberry blend (think cran-apple with a little carbonation and alcohol) and the Fireside Maple, which is a must-have for anyone who relishes the taste of maple syrup.

Over the Moon Farmstead, which built a tasting room in an old barn on the property, has it all in terms of both food and drink. The full restaurant, which is open Thursday through Sunday, offers meals like pistachio-crusted salmon, and a Szechuan vegan bowl. The taproom, which serves beer and hard cider, offers lighter fare, including stone-oven pizza.

The mead, which uses organic honey that yeast converts to alcohol, is infused with different fruits and spices to create unique flavor experiences. Some of them are aged on oak for added depth and mouth feel. Mead is non-carbonated, like wine, and is typically sold in corked bottles.

Moonlight is known for its semi-sweet mead called Desire, which is 14% alcohol and made with black currant, black cherry and blueberry. The sweeter Smolder mead is made with raspberries and chipotle peppers, for a smoky and spicy finish. Another favorite is Kurt’s Apple Pie, an apple mead with Vietnamese cinnamon and Madagascar bourbon vanilla.

Wineries

With a wide variety of fruit-based wines, Coffin Cellars – operating out of A Civil-War-era shoe maker shop in Webster – produces 15 varieties that are available when the wine says so. Some wines take two to five years before they are perfected and released, meaning some are available now and some are soon to be released.

Their offerings including a blueberry wine aged on French oak, plus red and blush elderberry wines and their top-selling cranberry-pomegranate wine that can be purchased at state liquor stores. They also have some more adventurous products, like lime wine and a jalapeno wine, which is not for the faint at heart.

The founder, Peter Coffin Austin was named after a famous early 1800s whaling captain, Peter Coffin.

Wine tastings are only available by reservation. Go to their website to book an appointment.

SHARA Vineyards on the Concord/Hopkinton border produces grape-based wines from vines on an eight-acre parcel, which is literally in the owners’ backyard. They host tours, tastings and music in the summer months.

The winery offers small snacks for purchase and encourages visitors to bring their own morsels. One ounce tastings are $3 each, and wine by the glass ranges from $8 to $18, depending on the varietal.

Call to in advance to book a tour at 603-836-9077

Up the road a bit is the Gilmanton Winery and Vineyard, that offers tastings Friday through Sunday, as well as a Sunday brunch.

Breweries

Concord is home to a growing number of breweries, with several more in surrounding towns.

The oldest is Concord Craft Brewing, which opened downtown in 2017. It has since expanded its taproom and renovated the kitchen and features 16 beers on tap. Located in an industrial park on Hall Street, Lithermans Limited Brewery rotates several ales and lagers on tap, including several double IPAs like Soul Doubt, sours like Lil Peach Of My Heart, and a double imperial chocolate strawberry stout called Hot Sex On A Platter, to name a few. Feathered Friend on South Main Street opened in 2022 and has a unique partnership with Smokeshow Barbeque inside the same building.

A little farther afield, travelers looking for unique taprooms can visit Henniker Brewing Company at 129 Centervale Road, Kettlehead Brewing Company at 407 W Main Street in Tilton, Vulgar Brewing Company in downtown Franklin, and a pair of breweries in Northwood, including Out.Haus Ales at 442 1st NH Turnpike and Northwoods Brewing Company at 1334 1st NH Turnpike.

Hard spirits

Steadfast Spirits, making American bourbon, as well as its signature “Trouble’s Moonshine,” is located in the same industrial park on Hall Street as Lithermans, which offers a one-two punch for anyone looking to load up. The tasting room is open Thursday though Sunday and the rest of the week by appointment only.

Outside the city, Cold Garden Spirits in Canterbury offers one of the most exclusive distilleries around. It’s limited creations are only available on-site and online. Located less than a quarter-mile north of Canterbury Shaker Village, Greg Meeh is hand-making these small batches in the barn of his childhood home. Sounds like a winner.

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